Making a Whole
by HyrulianJedi
Summary: Matt returns home to introduce his new daughter to his father, then braces himself for the awkward explanation that has to follow.
1. An Awkward Discussion

Matt continued to poke at his dinner with disinterest. He had flipped the chunk of potato onto just about every side possible, but could not seem to make it appetizing. He swirled it around in some of the juices from the meat, turning it a light brown, but still found himself unable to lift it to his mouth.

Beside him, Amiti sat with his hands in his lap, not even bothering to feign interest in the meal. He stared fixedly down at the plate, his cheeks still tinged red. He had not looked up in several minutes, instead slowly shrinking down into his chair.

Even Karis had fallen silent from the other side of the table, despite playing no part in the conversation. The only words that left her mouth were directed towards baby Alba, who bounced endlessly on her knee, paying no attention to the conversation.

Isaac sat next to her, completing the quartet of silence, his hands folded in front of his face. Every so often, he would glance over at Alba, then resume staring at the center of the table.

After a painfully long time, during which Matt wondering if he could pass the whole thing off as a poor joke, then actually considering it, his father finally stood up, pushing the chair back beneath the table. All three looked up at him as he walked to the other side of the kitchen, stopping at the window and staring out across the empty plateau.

Behind the renewed silence, Matt could hear the steady dripping of water from somewhere, his mind focusing in on it in an effort to distract himself from the conversation, or at least the lack of. He ran through every possible source of water in the house in his head, trying to determine which one could be-

"She's beautiful, Matt. I'm sorry, I wasn't..."

Thoughts of dripping water vanished from his mind as he glanced up to find his father shaking his head. "I didn't mean for it to come across that way. I'm thrilled to have a granddaughter, I really am." He sighed, then walked over to Karis, taking Alba into his arms. "It's just..."

"It caught you a bit off-guard?" Karis supplied.

Isaac nodded. "I...think 'a bit' is an understatement. But yes."

"I understand," Matt said quietly. "This isn't exactly how I ever imagined this conversation going, either. Before all this, at least."

Isaac shifted Alba onto a hip and rubbed his nose against hers briefly. "Well, I just want to make sure you know that I'll support you, regardless of what you do, Matt. I love you, and Alba, and you should never forget that."

Matt set down his fork, leaning back in his chair and smiling slightly. "Thanks, dad. I've...been a bit worried about how you would take this."

"You shouldn't have been," Isaac said, then turned to the young man beside him. "What about you, Amiti? You've been quiet this entire time. How are you handling this?"

Though Matt had not thought it possible, the Ayuthayan slid further down into his chair, his chin now level with the table. His lips moved slightly as he mumbled something inaudible.

"Wha- ouch! Sorry, I couldn't hear you," Isaac said, gently prying the little girl's hand out of his beard.

"I feel a bit used," he said slightly louder, but refused to sit up any further.

Matt grinned and reached over, ruffling his hair playfully. Amiti's hands flew up in a loose flail, halfheartedly attempting to defend himself, but quickly fell away when Matt drew his hand back. "You don't have to sound so dejected about it."

Amiti sighed, finally pushing himself back into a sitting position. "I apologize. I thought I had finally gotten used to everything, but this conversation has...well, been a bit embarrassing."

"I can't imagine it being any more awkward, honestly," Karis said dryly, standing up as she began to pile the dishes together. "If this had happened to _my_ father, he probably wouldn't have lasted three minutes into the conversation."

"I just..." Isaac began, then shook his head. "How did this even happen?"

Matt swallowed thickly. "It's a bit of a long story. Are you...sure you really want to hear the details?"

Isaac nodded firmly. "The shock will wear off eventually. I'll be fine."

Matt's eyes dropped to his new daughter, clinging tightly to her grandfather's shoulder. Her curious blue eyes matched Isaac's perfectly, darting around the room without focusing on anything. When they fell on Matt, however, Alba's face lit up in recognition as the girl smiled brightly, cooing at him.

He walked over and took her from Isaac, gently brushing her bright, blue hair back. "Okay. I guess the place to start is about a year ago, then."


	2. A Helpful Pirate

"So now I...press this and slide it along, right?"

"Yeah, get the sun level with the horizon."

Rief placed the instrument up to his face as Eoleo watched carefully, crossing his arms as he stood. Amiti watched silently from the side, stifling a laugh as Rief's face scrunched up in concentration, one eye squeezed shut while the tip of his tongue just barely poked out from the side of his mouth. His glasses, having gotten in the way of the instrument, rested atop his head, glittering in the sunlight like a slender crown.

Amiti saw nothing strange about Rief's curiosity towards the navigation of a ship. Ever since they had met, he always insisted on investigating how things worked, or at least learning how to operate them. The boy's insatiable hunger for knowledge did not limit itself to practical knowledge, either; he once interrogated Sveta for nearly an hour on what it felt like to read another's mind. The girl grew increasingly uncomfortable until Karis finally intervened, very nearly throwing Rief out of the room.

He became much more subdued in his questions after that. For a few weeks, at least.

The surprising part about the whole learning experience was how willing Eoleo was to teach him. Rief had been one of the main targets of the man's crude jokes, second only to Amiti, but when he approached him asking questions about the ship, Eoleo had never cracked so much as a witty quip. Without question he slipped into the teacher's role effortlessly, explaining to Rief how the various pieces of the ship worked, what he needed to sail it effectively, and various roles crew members needed to fill.

"Okay, got it." Rief lowered the instrument, locking the slide into place. "So now we check the charts, right?"

Eoleo nodded. "Make sure you grab the time off the chronometer, too. Out here, it ain't a big deal, but when you're dodgin' reefs and shallows, you need to be as exact as possible."

Rief stepped towards the cabin door, but stopped and turned around when he realized Eoleo had not moved. "Aren't you coming too?"

"Nah," he said, leaning back against the railing. "I've got a pretty good idea of where we are, and I can always double check in a matter of seconds. Go ahead and take your time, I'll find you in a little bit."

The boy stepped inside, letting the door swing shut behind him, and the sound of the hull parting waves filled the deck. Amiti returned his glance to the sea, the double hues of blue filling his vision. Neither land nor cloud broke the landscape, which Amiti had discovered to be a very boring situation. Nothing could even begin to distract his thoughts out here, something that he had been hoping for.

Well, nothing except for Eoleo.

The man announced his presence to Amiti in the form of a rough shaking as he threw one arm around the younger man's shoulders, crushing Amiti's arm between them. "What's eatin' you, Amiti?"

"Nothing," he said, shrugging out of Eoleo's grip and sliding further down the railing.

The pirate persisted, however, sliding down with him. "Nothin'? I haven't smelled that much bullshit since the last time I was on a farm."

Amiti shot him a withering look, but Eoleo simply responded with a raised eyebrow, planting his elbow on the railing and his chin in his hand. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with," Amiti said, turning back to the ocean.

"That doesn't cut it," Eoleo said, then turned around and leaned against the railing again. "I know we ain't always got along great, but I definitely think of you as more friend than enemy, and you've been out of sorts for days now."

Out of sorts. That was certainly how he felt. Sorted into a different box than the rest of humanity. Like he had been selected – ordered, even – to stand apart from the others. It frustrated him, and Eoleo's questioning did nothing to improve his mood. "Let me rephrase: it's nothing I really care to discuss with _you."_

Eoleo gazed over at him, his eyes widened slightly in surprise, then nodded. "Suppose I understand that. Might even deserve it, too. But here I am, tryin' to be friendly and polite and all that shit, so you could at least humor me a bit."

Amiti opened his mouth to deny it again, but Eoleo cut him off with a shake of his head. "Look, don't say 'nothin'' again. You don't need to give details. Don't even need to give me the real problem, just make up something close enough to it."

The young man thought on that in silence for a long moment. Could he even find a way to discuss it with Eoleo? Doubtful, he thought. Speaking with double meanings and finding fitting metaphors had never been one of his strong points. He would likely only succeed in confusing Eoleo endlessly if he tried, though the thought was not entirely unpleasant.

Before he could make up his mind, though, Eoleo nodded and pushed away from the railing, turning towards the cabin. "Kay. Tell you what, I'll just get Cornbread out here and you can talk things over with him, instead."

"No!"

Eoleo glanced over his shoulder at the sudden outburst and Amiti immediately felt his face turn red. "Don't want to bring him into this, huh?"

Amiti turned away, feeling foolish. "He doesn't need to concern himself with it, either."

He heard the pirate step closer and glanced back up, finding him smiling. "Oh? Your fearless leader doesn't need to worry about it? Why don't you want to talk to him?"

"He's...got other things to worry about," Amiti mumbled, looking down. "He shouldn't be-"

"Oh, cut the shit, Amiti," Eoleo said, placing one hand onto the railing. The younger man chanced a glance up to see the older's smile twisting into a small smirk. "I had it figured out days ago."

Amiti felt his face heat up even further, but he plodded on nonetheless. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Eoleo laughed, the sound cutting into Amiti slightly and digging under his skin. "I can't tell if you're tryin' to lie to me or yourself, but either way, you better quit it." His voice fell slightly, as did the smile on his face. "You think I don't notice how you avoid him? You'll watch him from across the cabin, or the deck, then vanish through the other end before he can talk to you. You've been makin' every excuse possible to keep away from him, but can't keep your eyes off him while he's around."

"Fine," Amiti snapped, his hands balling into fists at his side. His embarrassment had flared into anger, and he found himself ready to slam his fist into the pirate. "I'm drawn to him. I can't help it. Is that what you want to hear? Go ahead and mock me."

Only the shaking of Eoleo's head stopped Amiti from hitting the amused expression off his face. "I ain't gonna mock you. I don't give two shits who you fall for. But mopin' around and lyin' to yourself about it ain't doin' you any good."

"What do you care?" Amiti said, the coals of embarrassment still fueling his anger.

Eoleo threw his hands up into the air in frustration. "Didn't we cover this shit earlier? Whatever, just go ahead and tell yourself I'm doin' this to keep you focused on the mission. Does that make more sense than a pirate's concern?"

Amiti remained silent, turning back towards the ocean. He had deliberately chosen the port side, facing east; the shadows looming in the west distracted him in a most unpleasant manner. At least in this direction, he could pretend his problems were the only ones, that the simple troubles of his heart were the only things that mattered. Despite his desire to forget them, given the alternative...

Eoleo leaned forward on the railing next to him again, but said nothing for some time, merely looking out over the endless blue with him. The waves on the hull splashed in a steady rhythm, the heartbeat to their journey.

When the older man finally spoke, his voice was quiet and calm again. "Look, I ain't tryin' to stir shit up. I just think you should talk to him about it, if it's gonna bother you so much."

"Why?" Amiti asked. "What good would come of it?"

"Are you a fourteen-year-old girl?" Eoleo countered. "No offense to Himi, but they're the only ones I know of that get scared by the thought of telling someone how they feel. Man up."

Amiti scowled at him. "I'm not scared of it. I just...don't see why I should bother."

Rolling his eyes, Eoleo said, "Gods, you're an idiot. Maybe he might, I dunno, feel the same?"

"Not likely," Amiti said immediately shaking his head. "I've seen him looking at girls before."

"Yeah, and I seen you doin' the same," Eoleo said. "That obviously didn't make _you_ exclusive. Lemme try again: what's the worst that could happen?"

Amiti frowned, a myriad of tirades simultaneously playing across his mind. "He could be disgusted and never want to see me again."

"Come on. Can you really see Cornbread doin' that?" Eoleo asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Could he? Matt, their soft-spoken leader? Amiti rarely saw him angry, though when he did, a very uncharacteristic and violent rage exploded from the boy. It had frightened him, actually, seeing such a rapid personality shift in his friend when it occurred.

Would he? He certainly had plenty of justification every time Amiti had seen him angry; the surprise had been simply seeing the outrage come from Matt, and not Karis. Most things that irritated or bothered normal people, however, Matt simply laughed off.

"...No, I suppose not," Amiti admitted.

"Then just fuckin' _talk to him,"_ Eoleo said again. "Have done with it, one way or the other. Quit pretendin' the problem's gonna fix itself. You gotta-"

"Hey, Eoleo, I've got the position!"

The pirate's face immediately slipped into a frown before he turned around. "Hey, shrimp, didn't I tell you I'd come find you?"

Rief huffed from the cabin's doorway, stomping his foot. "Don't call me that! And I've been waiting for a while!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Midget." Eoleo glanced back at Amiti and simply pointed sternly at him, but said nothing. He then continued on towards the cabin, vanishing inside after Rief, leaving Amiti alone outside to ponder his words.


	3. A Sweet Treat

The city of Tonfon fascinated Matt. Not the size; he had grown up in Kalay, a thriving hub of commerce that connected Angara to Gondowan. The years had been very kind to the city of merchants since its founding, and the city expanded quickly. It now almost matched Tolbi in size, spreading across the countryside like water from a tipped canteen.

But where Kalay had endless alleys and streets and horses, Tonfon had rivers and bridges and boats. A intricate weaving of stone and wood created a series of platforms and passages throughout the city, its traffic navigating them in ignorance of their splendor. Brightly colored lanterns hung from the roof of every building, in more colors than Matt had ever imagined. Tiny flames flickered inside, casting dancing shadow images on the walls and ground from the designs painted onto the lanterns' sides.

"That one appears to be some sort of bird," Himi said, pointing to the side.

Matt followed her finger and nodded. "It looks like a rooster."

"I am not familiar with that bird."

Karis flashed him a suppressed grin from Himi's other side, forcing him to fight his own back down before saying, "It's a bird on a lot of Angaran farms that lays eggs. Well, the female ones lay eggs, and they're called chickens. The males are called roosters."

Himi shook her head, her pigtails flying about. "I do not understand why you choose different names for the genders. It seems foolish."

Karis shrugged. "Well, you need both for the eggs, after all. The chickens to have them, and the roosters to...well, make them."

Matt pressed his palm to his face, shaking his head. "That was a great explanation, Karis."

"Shut up."

"It's a common policy for farm animals across Angara, I believe," Amiti said. "Gender is the only difference between cows and bulls, correct?"

"It is," Matt said, nodding. "I'm not sure why, though."

"There is already so little difference between genders. Why would people make such a distinction?" Himi asked.

"I've always thought it was for buying and selling," Karis said. "If you were to get them mixed up, then you wouldn't be able to get any eggs, and- eww, is that one a snake?" she burst out, pointing at a lantern.

Matt laughed.

The sun dipped below the ocean as the four continued to stroll through the city. Eoleo had refused to pull out with the sun setting, not wanting to navigate the shallows in such dim lighting, so they all separated. In the morning they would reunite once more and resume their quest, but for tonight, for at least one night, they could afford to be children again, enjoying the foreign sights of a faraway land.

The Grave Eclipse lingered in the backs of their minds, of course, as well as on the minds of several people they met, but a unanimous and silent agreement had been reached to set the topic aside for the night. Matt thought they needed it, as well; tensions had been running high on the ship recently, especially between Amiti and Eoleo. He frequently found them arguing lately, and both their dispositions had suffered for it. Eoleo would take the helm or crow's nest for hours on end after an argument, his expression keeping anyone from approaching, while Amiti would simply vanish entirely, showing up again near the end of a mealtime to grab food before sneaking away again.

It frustrated Matt a bit, because neither would talk about it at all to him. Eoleo refused to speak a word on the matter, while Amiti simply denied any problem existed. Matt had tried to get some of the others to try, as well. Kraden had met the same results as him, while Karis had returned with the suggestion that Matt simply stay out of it and let it resolve itself.

He found it difficult to do that, however. It hurt him to simply stand by and watch the two struggle like that. Eoleo might deny that they were friends, but Matt doubted the man would have stuck with the nickname of 'Cornbread' if he felt no affection for him. Matt certainly liked him; he had never met someone so fearless before, someone capable of facing insurmountable odds unflinchingly. The thought of stopping something like the Grave Eclipse terrified him, but Eoleo treated it as he treated his daily tasks aboard the ship.

And Amiti... They had clicked together almost as soon as they met. Amiti had initially found Tyrell rude, Karis overbearing, and Rief a source of irritation, so he fell in with the quiet one, instead. With Matt, he could have low-key conversations paired with silences that did not feel awkward. They could always fall back and laugh at the ridiculous antics the others frequently got themselves into.

"What is it?"

Matt blinked and realized his eyes had shifted to Amiti when his thoughts did. He shook his head, smiled, and said, "Nothing. Just remembering when Rief was trying to convince us that the innkeeper in Belinsk wanted to eat him."

Amiti laughed as Himi cocked her head. "Why would he think this? Beastmen have no more taste for humans than humans do."

Grinning, Karis said, "She thought he was cute, actually. Unfortunately, he didn't really understand the way she was looking at him." Karis glanced over at Matt briefly, then back at Himi. "Speaking of being cute, we need to find you some new ribbons while you're here."

"New ribbons?" Himi asked. "What is wrong with these?"

Karis reached out and ran the closest through her fingers. "They're just getting a bit worn. Plus, I think you could use some different colors, also. I bet white would look great in your hair." She dropped her hand and looked up at the other two. "I know you really don't want to go accessory shopping with us, so you guys-"

"Actually, I really don't mind," Amiti began, but Karis just continued on as if he had not spoken.

"-can go do what you want. We'll see you back at the boat."

"Ship," Himi said simply.

Karis rolled her eyes. "Yes, ship, sorry. We'll see you later!"

Before Matt could even open his mouth to respond, Karis had grabbed the younger girl's hand and took off down a side street, vanishing around a corner. Matt stared after them for a moment, then turned to Amiti, who looked similarly bewildered.

After a few seconds, Amiti turned away. "Well, where would you like to go?"

Matt shrugged. "I'm fine with just continuing to walk in a direction."

Amiti nodded, but did not look back at Matt. "Let's head this way, then. There's more light."

They resumed their casual meandering through the streets of Tonfon, though a silence had settled upon them. The glow of the lanterns cast alternating shadows and light over everything as they walked, though Matt could still see the slight look of unease on Amiti's face. The young man said nothing as they walked, looking everywhere but in Matt's direction.

Had he irritated Amiti somehow? It became clear to him that Amiti did not really want to be alone with Matt; he looked to be trying to ignore him entirely. When had this started? Matt tried to think back, but realized he could not remember being alone with Amiti for a week or so, except for...

Oh.

Except for when he had been asking about his issues with Eoleo.

Amiti had refused to talk about it, but Matt had still proceeded to get the others to question him, as well. He obviously would have known who had sent them. Stupid. No wonder he felt so uncomfortable around him right now, given Matt's refusal to stop prying.

He felt his shoulders slump slightly with the realization. How could he lead this group if he only drove people apart like that? Granted, he had never wanted to be the leader, but time had shown again and again that he was either very lucky, or had some unique ability that transcended normal instinct and moved into the supernatural when it came to making decisions. Even after the Grave Eclipse, which rested entirely on his shoulders, the others had supported him and vowed to continue following him. He had found that to be a bad idea, and told them so, but they refused to listen.

He needed to find a way to fix the situation, and it would have to start with an apology. Glancing around the street as he walked, he picked a building with a large open window and moved towards it. "Amiti, hold on a second."

The man inside looked up at the sound, a blend of delicious aromas wafting out the window around him. Matt could see the edge of a long, stone stove on the side wall, with different metal baskets and pans boiling and frying. "Hello! What would you like?"

Matt glanced around inside the small kitchen briefly, feeling Amiti step up behind him, then said, "Um... We're leaving Tonfon in the morning. What do you recommend?"

"Hmm... A difficult decision," the man said slowly. "A stir-fry of local specialties would probably be best."

"Oh, we've eaten dinner already," Matt said, shaking his head. "I'm looking for something...lighter. A dessert, I guess."

The cook nodded. "In that case, one cannot leave Tonfon without trying our candied chestnuts. Wrapped in a sugary glaze, hardened, and then sprinkled with cinnamon. You'll never have anything like them again."

Matt smiled, reaching into his clothes for his gold wallet. "That sounds perfect." He glanced back over at Amiti, who had wandered to a street vendor on the other side, peering at the man's collection of oil paintings.

Unlike every other city he had been to, Tonfon seemed to come alive at night, rather than sleep. The day had seen the standard traffic he expected from a city this size, but there were just as many people out after the sun had set. Did the city have twice as many people as he thought, or did they just never actually sleep?

Either way, he liked it. The gentle ringing of bells, typically strung on long ribbons, continuously chimed in the background noise of the city. The low murmur of conversation could be heard everywhere, mixed with the sound of glasses clinking and punctuated periodically by loud cheers. Salt and sand rode on the breeze, carrying the scent of the beach up through the rivers inland.

"Here you go."

Matt turned back to the kitchen window to find the cook holding out a thin cloth bag, tied shut loosely at the top. He took the bag, dropped the gold in the man's hand, thanked him graciously, and walked over to Amiti. "Here," he said, holding the bag out.

Amiti peered inside, grabbed one of the candies, and popped it into his mouth as they turned around, continuing to walk. "They're delicious. Thank you," he said.

Matt simply nodded, not taking one yet. He held the bag loosely in his hand, trying to figure out the best way to say what he wanted. Conversations had never been a strong point with him, especially not delicate ones. Rather than speak without thinking, like Tyrell, however, he usually chose to simply not speak. He had no such luxury here, though. He had things that needed to be said if he wanted to fix the problems he had created.

But how could he? Everything he could think of to say sounded stupid, and he continually imagined Amiti simply getting more irritated with him for every excuse that came. He found himself unable to start, merely holding out the candies for Amiti again every so often.

"Have you even had one yet?" Amiti asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Matt glanced over at him to find the man holding up the piece of candy he had just taken. "Oh. No, not yet."

"Here, then, try one," he said, stopping and reaching out towards Matt's mouth with it.

Matt blinked as he watched it approach, going slowly cross-eyed, then stepped back and looked up at Amiti. "Um. Amiti."

The man stopped. "What?" He paused for a moment, then pulled the candy back. "Wait. Other people don't do this, do they?"

Shaking his head and feeling his face turn red, Matt said, "Um, no. We usually just put it in the other person's hand. Putting it into the mouth is a bit...intimate."

"I see." Amiti turned away, moving towards the railing of the great bridge they had stopped on. "I...apologize."

Matt glanced down at the bag in his hand. Now was as good a time as any, he supposed, even though he still had no idea how to really say it. He thought back to all the apologies Tyrell had made, remembering how well they were usually received and wondering how his friend had done them. No matter how angry people were with him, after he apologized, most of that anger vanished.

It certainly had nothing to do with his eloquence or reasoning. Tyrell never complicated his speech, and his reasons for doing things usually only frustrated people further. He delivered his apologies in exactly the same manner he always spoke in, but they somehow made things better. Why? How did his way of speaking, usually only serving to irritate people, suddenly make them calm down when apologizing?

His sincerity, Matt realized. Tyrell always spoke his mind and spoke it freely, never tempering his words. While it certainly made him rude in many situations, when it came to apologies, his words came directly from his heart. People forgave him because when he apologized, there was no question as to whether or not he meant it.

If his regular approach would not work, why not try another one? He walked over to the railing as well, saying, "Amiti... I need to apologize too."

The Ayuthayan looked over at him. "Apologize? For what?"

"For all the...prying I've done," Matt said with a sigh. He crossed his arms on the railing and rested his chin down onto them. "I keep trying to get into your business when you don't want me to. If you and Eoleo have problems with each other and you don't want me involved, that's your choice, and I should respect that."

Amiti slowly turned to him, but before he could say anything, Matt continued. "I just... I just don't like seeing you guys fighting like that. I know you two have never really gotten along, but this... I dunno. I feel like it's my fault, like I should be a better leader."

"It's not your fault," Amiti said immediately, then looked down. "And...we're not fighting. Not really. It's not about me and him."

"Oh," Matt said, looking down at the river below. Flitting across the surface of the calmly flowing water flew a string of lightning bugs, their ends flashing as they drew a line of light through the darkness. "What is it about, then? Wait, never mind, you don't have to answer that," he added quickly, kicking himself for being stupid. Wasn't he supposed to be apologizing for prying?

Amiti shook his head. "It's... It's okay, I don't mind. It's about..." He paused, keeping his gaze fixed on the water. "It's about you. Me and you."

Himself and Amiti. Eoleo and Amiti in an argument about something. Amiti avoiding him constantly. Everything clicked as a cold weight settled into Matt's stomach. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "This _is_ all my fault."

Amiti glanced up at him, confusion on his face. "What?"

"This whole situation," Matt said, tilting his head to rest on his forehead, instead. "I've made some bad calls, and caused a lot of suffering because of it. I'm surprised you're the one angry with me, actually. I would've expected Eoleo to blame me for his father's death."

Laughter made him pick his head back up, turning to the other man. "Is that what you think this is about?" Amiti asked. "That I blame you for the mistakes we all made and hate you for them?"

Now confusion raced across Matt's face. "Wait, that's not it?"

"No," Amiti said with a smile. "It's...actually the opposite. I... I..." He shook his head. "I've never been very good with words for things like this." Glancing down at the candy still in his hand, he paused for a moment before looking back up at Matt, moving it towards his mouth once more.

Matt stared at the chestnut blankly once again, comprehension punching him in the stomach for a second time in the past minute. Completely stunned, he could only watch as Amiti slowly pressed the sweet between his lips, his mouth automatically opening slightly to accept it. The cook had been right; he had never tasted anything so deliciously sweet in his life. He could feel the glaze slowly melt away in his mouth, coating his tongue with the sugary substance.

He remained paralyzed when Amiti leaned in, following the candy.

As Amiti's lips touched his, he went cross-eyed briefly, trying to keep the other man in focus, then simply closed his eyes when he found the act futile. This wasn't supposed to happen, he thought numbly. He knew some men liked other men, but that had never been the case with him. He had never even thought about it, knowing he was attracted to girls. But if that was so, why did nothing feel wrong about the kiss? Shouldn't he be pushing away, fighting to stop Amiti?

Their lips parted and Matt inhaled sharply, still shocked senseless. Some distant part of him knew his face was burning as brightly as one of Tonfon's lanterns, but the rest of him could not be bothered with it. His eyes met Amiti's for a moment, the Ayuthayan's face an obvious scarlet, even in the darkness on the bridge.

When Amiti leaned back in, Matt knew the initial shock had worn off. He knew accepting the second kiss would also be an acceptance of Amiti's feelings for him, and a reciprocation of those feelings, at least partially. He could pull away, apologize, and try to let Amiti down as gently as possible, so as not to lose his good friend.

As the second kiss touched his lips, though, Matt felt a surge of heat in his chest, pulling towards Amiti. It expanded to fill his entire body, hottest in the center of his chest and where his mouth locked with Amiti's. Nothing in him wanted to pull away from his friend, to break the kiss. Was that a sign of his own feelings, so deep that even he did not know them?

He had no idea, really. His mind had never fully come out of the stupor it had initially fallen into. He _did_ know that he did not seem to mind sharing a kiss with the man who had come to be one of his closest friends. Nor did he really seem to mind finding out where this could go, he realized.

When Amiti pulled his head away again, the warm feeling slowly faded away, making the slightly cool night air seem chilly in comparison. Amiti looked at him, smiling. "Sorry, but you taste really sweet."

Matt could not help but laugh.


	4. A Bad Deal

Amiti stared across the table at Tyrell.

The young man had his fingers interlaced beneath his chin, leaning on the bridge they formed. Amiti suspected that their eyes had locked, but he had no way of telling: Tyrell's goggles covered his. The lenses appeared to be tinted, likely to shield his eyes from sunlight as well, but having the added benefit of hiding them.

The grey reflection of himself stared back from the goggles, Tyrell sitting completely still. Amiti could see his own eyes narrow slightly in them. The steadily increasing pressure in his head distracted him from all the minute signals his body was sending.

He reached forward, sliding a pair of tiny gold coins across the table.

Tyrell moved one of his hands, reaching down to the table and flipping over a trio of cards in front of him, his dark substitute for eyes never moving. Amiti broke the stare, glancing down, and stared at the cards for a long moment. "You're terrible," he said at last.

A grin broke Tyrell's face as he pulled the gold towards him. "I think this means I'm amazing, actually. Don't be jealous."

Amiti grumbled slightly as he stood up, pushing the chair back in, then said more clearly, "Those goggles are cheating."

"Are not," Tyrell said, scooping the cards into a pile and maneuvering them into their normal stack. "You're just mad 'cause you're one of those books that teach kids their letters. Y'know, with lots of pretty pictures."

He wanted some sharp retort. He wanted one of those quick replies Eoleo and Karis always seemed to have. He wanted something witty that could use the book analogy and turn it back in Tyrell's face. He saw the edges of something involving picture books, but the growing headache prevented him from reaching the connection, forcing him to settle for a lesser comeback. "Am not."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why you're terrible at Queen's Ransom."

Amiti resisted the urge to blandly deny the claim again; he lost almost every game the two had played that night. They had learned the game from some of the locals in Champa after Eoleo left them to go look for some friends of his, only later finding out that the Scourge of the Eastern sea had _invented_ the game. When he found out they had learned to play, he quickly coerced them into a few games.

The sound thrashing they both received convinced them they needed practice. Every afternoon they met for some practice, while every evening they dodged Eoleo's taunts for more games, making small wagers eventually to better learn the flow of betting on it. With Amiti having the crow's watch that afternoon, however, they had rescheduled their practice to the cargo hold that evening, away from Eoleo's usual romping grounds of the galley.

Amiti quickly gave ground to Tyrell at first, who picked up the game far faster than the Ayuthayan. Though he normally refused to hold back any thought that passed through his head, the moment he donned those goggles, he transformed into some kind of statue. His features turned to stone, never twitching or swaying at the turn of the cards.

A skilled ally did not satisfy Amiti's desire for revenge, though. He routinely fantasized about thoroughly trouncing the pirate himself, of turning his own game against him in the most righteous form of justice he could imagine. Unless he could improve against Tyrell, Eoleo would merely walk all over him again.

"Tyrell, wait," he said, preparing to sit him back down for a few more rounds. The thought of losing to Eoleo stirred in his chest, urging him to work at the game. A moment later a fresh pulse of pain through his head changed his mind once more. He placed one hand on the chair and another on his head.

"You okay?" Tyrell asked, leaning across the table as he pulled the goggles down to dangle around his neck. "You weren't doing so good today."

Amiti shook his head. "I've not been feeling well. It's been getting worse as the night goes on."

Tyrell stared at him. "Why don't you just go to bed, then? You're not getting any better sitting out here."

"Well, I..." Amiti shifted his weight between feet. "I didn't want to fall behind. I want to defeat Eoleo too."

Tyrell continued to stare at him blankly, seemingly forgetting that he no longer wore the goggles. "So... You're trying to play a mind game...when you can't even focus. Come on, you're not that dumb."

Amiti opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. Tyrell was right. Playing a game that relied on bluffing and reading the opponent seemed foolish with such a headache. No amount of practice like this would help him improve. "I suppose."

"Go on, go to bed," Tyrell said, moving over and pushing him towards the ladderwell. "The extra sleep will make you feel better. When you wake up, you'll feel fine, and you might even be able to fool me." He hesitated, then added, "I'd actually use the time to _sleep,_ too."

The man froze suddenly, feeling his stomach shift a few inches. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Tyrell laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, this is why you're always losing, you suck at hiding things. You think these wooden walls do much for blocking sound?"

The blood that rushed to his face made Amiti pray for the sudden pressure to burst his head entirely and save him the embarrassment. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the words to deny it, to explain it, to brush it off, anything, but nothing could pass his lips. His mind itself seemed to stop working, feeding him nothing but constant repetitions of Tyrell's words.

The other man pushed him again, shaking his head. "Seriously, though, for the sake of your health and my unwanted mental images, keep Matt out tonight."

Amiti practically ran to the ladderwell, bumping his head on the wooden beam as he rose. It did nothing to improve his headache. He kept his head down as he made for the cabins, thankful tonight that the ship was large enough for each of them to have their own. Someone's feet appeared in his vision, looking to be Rief's, but Amiti simply bumped past the boy with a quick apology, not looking back.

Only once he reached his cabin did he raise his eyes again. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, letting out a long sigh. His embarrassment had faded, but the heat in his face had not. He could still feel the fire burning at his skin.

Trying to push the thoughts away, he pulled his clothes off and crawled into the bed, shivering as he pulled the covers up to his chin. He rolled over once, trying to find a comfortable position, but his head seemed to find the very notion objectionable. He ignored his discomfort and tried to remain still. Lights danced before his eyes, spinning around in flashes of color along his eyelids. Despite every wish otherwise, his mind still tried to track them all, tried to make sense of the random images as they ran. His headache only grew worse.

Rolling over again, he pushed his head into the pillow, trying to apply some kind of pressure to it, though he doubted it would help him. He shivered again, curling his legs into a fetal position and pulling them close. He needed to stay still. Every movement he made not only prevented him from sleeping, but made him cold again.

He called his thoughts together, slowly banishing them one by one, visualizing complete blackness. It took several minutes, but the light show in his eyes finally subsided slightly. The man tried to ignore his headache and the lingering lights, pushing everything aside in an effort to drift off to sleep.

Eventually he met some success, he assumed. So-called sleepless nights tended to last forever, but he knew periods of unconsciousness dotted them periodically. A night without _any_ sleep lasted long enough to be blatantly noticeable. Much of the night had been spent fighting the small fever burning inside him, but sleep still claimed him at times.

When light finally fell through the porthole in the morning, gently kissing his face, he blinked his eyes open slowly and sighed. On the one hand, he felt better; whatever seized him the day before burned itself out with the fever, leaving his head free to think things over. On the other hand, however, he knew the small amount of hard-won sleep would make the day run long.

He considered trying to return to sleep, but between the sun in his face and Eoleo's tendency to take great pleasure in waking people up, he doubted it would happen. Sighing, he threw the covers back and climbed out of bed, then suddenly stumbled.

Amiti caught himself and shook his head. His balance was still a bit unsteady, evidently. He crouched a few times, then wiggled his legs to loosen them some more. Satisfied, he took a few more steps across the small cabin.

Something was off, he realized. Something still felt odd about everything, even though he had seen far worse roll in the ship with no issues. Why did his balance feel so weird?

He glanced back at his bed, wondering if perhaps he had been sick during the night and simply forgotten it, but he saw nothing. Shaking his head again, trying to remember if he had hit his head recently, he eventually decided to hope it would simply go away on its own. The fever dreams from the night before had probably just disoriented his senses.

He pulled his clothes back on, and despite clearing up the haze that often accompanied waking, he found himself unable to shake the feeling that something was just _wrong._ It set off no warning bells in his head, such as happened when he suspected a trap or ambush. Something simply felt surreal about the situation, as if he had never woken from a dream.

After a moment's consideration on that point, he reached across himself and pinched his arm. No, not a dream. What, then? The back of his neck tingled with the sensation, annoying him further. Mysteries always did.

He shook his head one more time, more fiercely than the previous attempts, then walked back to his bed, prodding the chamber pot out with his foot.

When he went to use it, he shouted in surprise.

He looked up again, pinched himself much more sharply than he had previously, then looked down.

He shouted once more.

Then he shouted one more time, just on the off chance he _was_ sleeping, in the hopes of waking himself up.

"Amiti!"

The man scrambled to pull his clothes back into place as the door opened. Sveta stood just outside, her narrowed eyes sweeping the cabin quickly before slowly stepping inside, her body tense. "What is it? Are you alright?"

Amiti stepped back slightly, his mouth flapping as he tried to push words through it too quickly. They collided and fell out together as nonsensical gibberish. He tried to wave Sveta away when his words failed to do so, shaking his head furiously.

She did the exact opposite, moving closer as she relaxed her muscles, obviously sensing no danger. "Amiti? What's wrong?"

He tried to step back again, but found the cabin's wall behind him all too suddenly. His eyes darted around the cabin quickly, but no solution appeared. Sveta continued to approach, concern written on her face, while Amiti redoubled his efforts to pull his mouth together.

Sveta stood only a few feet away when he finally took a deep breath, swallowing all his words at once, then pausing just long enough to speak clearly.

He paused for too long. A gentle string tugged at his mind, and too late he recognized the faint sense of Psynergy touching it. He immediately opened the floodgate holding back his thoughts, trying to allow them to simply overwhelm the young woman with noise.

She stepped back and gasped.

Amiti hung his head.

Sveta stood in silence for a moment, stunned in the same manner he had been. Only after she managed to find her voice did she say, "Amiti... Why are you a girl?"


End file.
